NW Rock Creek Road reopens after culvert replacement

A section of NW Rock Creek Road in the rural west hills between NW Skyline Blvd. and NW Elliott Road reopened to traffic today, March 30 after being closed for twelve weeks due to a culvert failure.

NW Rock Creek Road after repair and before reopening on 3-30-2020

A corrugated culvert that carries a tributary to Rock Creek collapsed in January 2020, causing the creek to back-up on the uphill side and eroding the slope under the road. Contractor MEI Group excavated to a depth of 30 feet below the road to remove the failed culvert and install a new one with a larger capacity and made of more durable material. The creek was pumped over the road until the new culvert was installed.

The short section of road above the new culvert is now one-way only, due to the steep slopes on either side of the road. Temporary concrete barriers will be replaced with guardrail at a later date.

NW Rock Creek Road has a relatively low traffic volume. Multnomah County maintains this section of the road and more than 270 miles of roads. For project information, visit: www.multco.us/rockcreek. For information about other county roads, visit: www.multco.us/roads or follow us on Twitter @multcoroads.